Dawn

It's clearly been a tough run for the Wood family lately.  Yesterday seemed like virtual reality given we had all been with Susan a week before, preparing to get her out of the hospital.  It was perhaps most comforting to see our scattered (geographically) family come together to be in Metairie.  A favorite song of mine says, "We learned our lesson from the start.. the only thing you can depend on is your family."  And while Jay isn't family, he sured delivered like a Wood.  He had a great eulogy, challenging all of us to adopt one of our favorite traits of Susan and perfect it in our lives, so that she may live on within us.  As he articulated, Susan was simple, determined, and most surely loving.  I'd like to add one- light-hearted and fun-loving.  For some reason, all of my memories of her prior to her hospitalization involve a lot of laughter.  Perhaps the most defining trait of Susan's life was her determination.  She started two companies and battled the sclerosis of Louisiana's reticence to any innovation and change, trust me- it stinks (coming from a self-proclaimed New Yorker).  She cared for her two wonderful sons like a lioness would defend a cub.  She had so many frequent medical setbacks, and they never came in the way of developing really innovative products (including sugar-free and artificial free snow balls and drink mixes, an idea I really think still has some legs).  Jay's observations were really enlightening to me, and if we all challenge ourselves to be persistent, simple, loving and light-hearted, I think we'll all be smiling when we leave "this mortal coil," as no doubt Susan most definitely was.

On Carl's front, we got some good news yesterday: chemistry and histology confirmed no presence of "blasts" or cancer cells in his marrow.  He has a very mild skin rash, which the doctor believes is proving that he has a bit of graph vs. host disease.  That means Sissy's cells are attacking cells in dad's body.  That also generally means her cells are packing a punch and can eliminate any cancer cells that could be hiding out in the remote parts of his bones.  Dad's chances of staying cancer free are actually higher if he has graph vs. host disease, but it can also be a miserable disease.  A mild skin rash would be just the trick, so hopefully Sissy's cells will leave it at that.  For now, I'm taking it as sunrise for our family.  The beginning of a bright period, where we will all be engaged, persistent, loving and light-hearted.  Susan lives in us, like dawn: refreshingly light after a long night.

"The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice." -Ernest Hemingway

Susan Wood Dunham

My sister Susan passed away Wednesday morning at 2:15am. She had a brain tumor operation and was recovering in Ochsner hospital when she got an infection of the GI tract (C. diff). She was being treated with heavy doses of antibiotics. She was doing fairly well until Monday when her liver and kidneys began to fail, probably from the drugs. Her decline was rapid.

Susan was truly a loving and caring mother of Philip and Scott Dunham.
She was always quick to help. Principled and ethical in all endeavors, she was a model for us all. Susan was a joy and gift to us all. She brought enthusiasm to every situation.
Susan owned and operated The Nectar Soda Company, LLC.
We will miss Susan sorely and she will leave a void in our lives impossible to fill. Her untimely passing has left our love for her incomplete.
Please pray for her.
Love, Carl

Survival Guide

Over the last 24 hours, dad started grafting, which means Sissy's stem cells are taking hold and producing blood cells. His white blood cell count jumped from 0.9 to 3.9, he is really delivering! The soreness in his throat and mouth are beginning to diminish and he's better able to eat solid foods, though it's not off to the races yet.

He will likely be discharged from the hospital in a few days, I'll write another update when we know more on that front.

In the mean time, I wanted to share a really important lesson we've learned with some anecdotal evidence. The power of a positive attitude is clearly of utmost importance, both for the patient and the caregiver or family. It's so dangerous to get swept up by fear or sadness, because you inevitably lose momentum. We will all be in the hospital before we check out of this life, some of us more than others, and you get through it. If you believe everything's changing for the worse, you will actualize that result. We have remained absolutely convinced dad's Life 2.0 will be significantly more enhanced than Life 1.0. You have to firmly believe it, no matter what you're going through and how scary some of the possible outcomes sound. And Carl has radically converted negative thought patterns into peace and joy.

Here at MD Anderson, they encourage patients to walk and exercise a lot. Dad's been walking between 2-5 miles a day, usually closer to the higher end. We've made friends with the other more social people on the floor, and it's been a very positive experience. But the patients who are less social, less active, or have attitudes that are suboptimal end up having suboptimal recoveries. A gentleman who complained to me during a walk around the floor that he was just "so sick of being cooped up here," ended up having a struggle of a recovery. Meanwhile, the chatty Kathy, who was nearly always walking around, beat the odds and was discharged on Day 17. Dad may end up beating that, as he's delivering great results on just Day 11 (transplant day is Day 0). It has been anecdotally clear that the positive attitude has made all the difference in the world.

A lot of our friends and other family members have had some medical issues lately, our prayer list has really expanded, and our hearts go out to all of them. Susan, Renato, Halle, Andrew, Rachel, Jack, we are praying for you all consistently. And for all the family members with them, remember your attitudes very strongly influence the attitudes of the fighters and survivors. As a recently passed away genius told us, "Straight and narrow is the path. Waste no time." Make haste in converting negative thoughts into healthy thoughts, and just maybe you'll defy the odds and stay out of the hospital! When you pray, give thanks for the patient's health. Give thanks for the health, because they are healthy, they just need a little time in the body shop.

Thank you for you prayers, support, friendship and love throughout the last 120 days. We look forward to helping you all through periods like this, Carl has the formula figured out and he's a great teacher!

"It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness." Lucius Annaeus Seneca (taken from Fiat's 2011 Annual Report)